Police have arrested a man who was let out of DuPage County Jail to attend his brother’s funeral but never returned.
Bruce T. Berrier, 23, was arrested Saturday at a Jewel-Osco in Glendale Heights, 12 days after he was temporarily released from the jail and allegedly cut off his GPS bracelet at Arlington Cemetery in Elmhurst.
Berrier appeared in court Sunday on new charges of contempt of court, escape, failure to return to a penal institution and criminal damage to government property, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office. A judge denied bail.
Berrier allegedly escaped after a judge granted his request to attend the memorial service on Jan. 11. He was supposed to return to the jail by 2 p.m. that day, but never did. Police found his ankle monitor at the cemetery, and a judge signed an arrest warrant.
In July 2021, Berrier pleaded guilty to gun-running and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was on parole at the time for an aggravated discharge of a firearm conviction.
In that case, Berrier, then 16, shot two men during an argument in November 2015 in the 900 block of West North Avenue of Villa Park, where he lived.
In December 2020, Berrier was accused of selling illegal guns to undercover officers in Roselle and Hanover Park. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
